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When Prince Andrew found himself caught up in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, the Royal Family had to quickly respond.
Prince Philip, who was 98 years old at the time, had retired from royal duties but was still the head of the family.
Advising his son on how to handle the situation was, ‘one last family intervention he was keen to execute himself,’ royal expert Tina Brown wrote in her 2022 book The Palace Papers.
Andrew had been summoned to Sandringham to meet with his father and explain his side of things after his disastrous interview with the BBC’s Emily Maitlis on Newsnight.
The meeting resulted in the late Duke of Edinburgh asking his son to ‘step down’ from his royal duties.
Andrew’s Newsnight encounter has been dramatised in the new Amazon Prime show A Very Royal Scandal, which stars Michael Sheen as the Prince and Ruth Wilson as Ms Maitlis and was released last Thursday.
Prince Andrew with his father Prince Philip watching the horse racing at Epsom Downs, in Surrey, in 2016
King Charles, Princess Anne and Prince Andrew attending the Easter service at St George’s Chapel in Windsor last year
Andrew, the Queen and Prince Philip attending the Derby in 2013
An insider at the royal estate previously told the Daily Telegraph: ‘There was no screaming or shouting, Philip told him in no uncertain terms that he had to step down for the sake of the monarchy.
‘Philip doesn’t like trial by the media but he’s realistic enough to realise that Andrew’s actions were a danger to the very fabric of the royal family.’
They described the conversation as ‘tense’ and that Philip had told Andrew ‘he had to take his punishment’.
King Charles, then the Prince of Wales and heir to the throne, used the situation as an opportunity to demonstrate his power in the family too.
He had been increasing his number of public engagements while the Queen gradually reduced hers.
Charles reportedly ‘read the riot act’ to his younger brother after summoning him to a meeting at the royal estate after returning from a trip to New Zealand.
He told Andrew there was ‘no way back into the family in the near future’ and echoed Philip’s request for him to step down from public duties.
A source previously told The Sun: ‘It was all very civilised and calm but Charles calmly read him the riot act and told him there was no way back for him in the near future.
Prince Andrew with BBC journalist Emily Maitlis in Buckingham Palace on the day she interviewed him for Newnight in 2019
Ms Maitlis questioned Andrew on his association with Epstein, and the Prince denied allegations against himself made by sex accuser Virginia Giuffre
Charles told Andrew there was ‘no way back into the family in the near future’ and echoed Philip’s request for him to step down from public duties
Convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein pictured in 2000 at Royal Ascot
Andrew attending Royal Ascot with Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell (green dress) in June, 2000
‘Andrew thought he was being treated harshly as nothing has yet been proved against him, but he accepted the decision. He really had little choice.’
It came after Andrew faced public outcry following his interview with Ms Maitlis the month before.
The journalist questioned Andrew on his association with Epstein, and the Prince repeatedly denied allegations made by Ms Giuffre.
He claimed that he could not have had sex with Ms Giuffre – who alleged she was trafficked by Epstein to sleep with the Duke in 2001 – because he was out with his daughter Princess Beatrice for a birthday party at Pizza Express in Woking.
Ms Maitlis recently told the Radio Times: ‘One month after the interview aired, I was taken aside by someone close to Prince Charles and told — somewhat cryptically — that “HRH was not unhappy with the interview”.’
Andrew continued to strenuously deny ever even having met Ms Giuffre.
In March 2022 he paid a multi-million-pound settlement to his accuser, formally ending the civil sex assault case she brought against him in the US.
As a result of him being forced into effective retirement, he lost his £249,000 income from the Sovereign Grant but kept his palatial home, the 30-room Royal Lodge in Windsor.
Although he has a 75-year lease on the property, he has been under increasing pressure from Charles to leave the £30million mansion.
The King had been funding private guards at the residence since Andrew’s police protection was removed in 2022 amid the Epstein scandal.
But last month, it emerged that the ten-strong team of guards had been told they would not be required from the autumn, reportedly on the King’s orders.
Andrew and his daughter, Princess Beatrice, at the Queen’s funeral in 2022
Andrew and the late Duke of Edinburgh on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of The Battle of Britain in 2015
Charles is said to be at the end of his tether and has made it clear there are now only ‘two possible options’ for Andrew, The Times reported.
The first is for the Duke to find a way of being financially independent by paying for his own expenses, which would cover his security and the maintenance on his home.
The second, according to sources close to the King, is for Andrew to move into ‘more suitable accommodation’.
Charles has encouraged Andrew to move into Windsor’s Frogmore Cottage which was the former home of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex before their move to California.
The cottage is within the existing security cordon of the royal Windsor estate and was refurbished by Harry and Meghan in 2019.
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